Arsenal determined to secure Nabil Fekir summer transfer

It gets hard to keep track of transfer rumours during periods of rest in between fixtures, as the speculation comes pouring in from every angle for players Arsenal will either never sign or those they’ve likely never heard of. The latest? Nabil Fekir.

The Frenchman will be familiar to Premier League fans for his outstanding disappearing act at Liverpool where he went from posing with the shirt to never being seen on Anfield again. If this were the 1650’s he’d they’d have been lighting up the stake in quick time.

The reasons for him failure to join were obviously injury related as he eventually moved to Real Betis from Lyon for £17m in the summer of 2019, but he hasn’t left the magic behind.

Indifferent form for the attacking midfielder has followed, with adaptation and integration playing their part, even if he still accrued a healthy 14 goal contributions in his debut campaign in La Liga. He’s followed that up with seven this term, most eye-catching of all his solo goal against Levante, whose players mastered the art of social distancing.

https://twitter.com/PremierSportsTV/status/1373025706741993472

Arsenal extremely interested in Nabil Fekir summer transfer with Barcelona also eyeing Real Betis midfielder

Operating as the No. 10 in Manuel Pellegrini’s 4-2-3-1 setup, Nabil Fekir has hit top form once more, catapulting him back into the wanted lists of clubs across Europe.

As Estadio Deportivo report, the main two are Arsenal and Barcelona. The pair are both heavily interested in the 27-year-old, who will be made available for sale as Betis have been told they need to make money ‘urgently and heavily’.

New Barça president Joan Laporta is already sounding out his preferred targets, with an offer in the process that will align with their obliterated finances and ludicrous transfer strategy while Arsenal…well, are probably looking at alternatives to Martin Odegaard.

Betis’ predicament is akin to that of so many other sides, needing to shift their top stars to balance the books, with no like-for-like additions to come in.

If they are to sell Fekir they will have to loosen up on their €90m release clause, which is enough to fend off almost everyone in a pandemic era. There is apparently some wiggle room.

Arsenal shouldn’t concern themselves with wiggle room as they can’t be splashing such cash even during normal circumstances. A line of negotiation should open up with Betis, but for Emerson Royal instead even if he’s technically Barcelona’s player.

Newer developments go one further, with Mundo Deportivo claiming Arteta is ‘determined’ to sign Fekir this summer having wanted him last season as an alternative to signing Dani Ceballos on another loan deal.

It’s a story being peddled across Spanish media, with plenty of firm statements on the Gunners’ desires to lure the playmaker to north London. There is no mention of how much Arsenal are willing to offer, but you can bet your bottom dollar – which is probably not far off what they have – that it won’t be his release clause.